Google teamed up with GeoEye, a satellite imagery company, to make images of the affected area available for people to view in Google Earth or Google Maps.
Before-and-after images of earthquake damage in Japan show the destruction caused by last week's tsunami. (Image: Google)
Ryan Falor, a member of the Google Crisis Response team, noted in a blog post over the weekend that the images are being made available to aid organizations in an attempt to assist their rescue efforts.
"We hope this new updated satellite imagery is valuable for them as well as everyone else following this situation to help illustrate the extent of the damage," wrote Falor.
"You can also follow @earthoutreach on Twitter to stay up to date with our mapping and imagery efforts."
In the wake of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan on Friday -- followed by the tsunami and a still-unfolding nuclear emergency -- the official death toll stands at about 1,900, though it's expected to rise dramatically.
Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her e-mail address is sgaudin@computerworld.com .
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This story, "Google, NASA Release Satellite Images of Japan Disaster" was originally published by Computerworld.